For most bands whose CDs I have in my collection, there seems to be a pinnacle album – one that I’ll listen to more than anything else in that band’s catalog. One that I don’t think they’ll ever do better than even though they may come close. Case in point – Superchunk’s Foolish. Now, part of this may be due to the fact that that was the first Superchunk CD I heard and I’m sure many would disagree and say they’ve made better. That’s fine. But ask me my favorite Superchunk album and, without any hesitation, I’ll say Foolish.
So, it’s really cool when bands decide to do a nostalgia tour and play one of their albums, start to finish, especially when it’s a band I like doing my favorite album of theirs. Jimmy Eat World just announced that they are doing a 10-date tour in which they’ll play Clarity in it’s entirety. Released in 1999, Clarity was considered by many fans to be Jimmy Eat World’s OK Computer – a shift and expansion in sound from their previous release (the also outstanding) Static Prevails. I remember talking to Robby from Crumb around that time and he was telling me how he had heard Clarity demos (this was the early days of the web and a few years before file-sharing) but that they were a fourth generation cassette copy (ha ha … CASSETTE). Clarity didn’t disappoint and to many JEW fans, myself included, this is the one album from the band’s catalog that, if picked to save one from a burning house, there wouldn’t be any hesitation.
Here are the dates. Tickets go on sale this Thursday (Nov.13):
Feb. 23: New York (Terminal 5)
Feb. 24: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
Feb. 25: Philadelphia (Trocadero)
Feb. 26: Boston (House of Blues)
Feb. 28: Chicago (Metro)
March 2: Denver (Ogden Theatre)
March 4: San Francisco (Fillmore)
March 6: San Diego (House of Blues)
March 7: Tempe, Ariz. (Marquee Theatre)
Videos from Clarity after the jump.
Table for Glasses
Lucky Denver Mint
A Sunday
Crush
For Me This is Heaven
Blister
Clarity
Goodbye Sky Harbor